Real estate prices in the Philippines recovered in the third quarter last year, after two consecutive quarters of decline, the Philippine Central Bank (BSP) said on 5 January.

The BSP’s Residential Real Estate Price Index showed that national house prices increased by 6.3% year-on-year in the third quarter, following the 9.4% drop in the second quarter. This was partly due to the stronger consumer demand for residential property, particularly townhouses and condominium units, it said.

The BSP said the year-on-year increase was driven by the 11.4% growth in prices in the National Capital Region (Manilla). Property prices in areas outside the NCR also moved up by 4.9% year-on-year.

The BSP said that on a quarter-on-quarter basis, residential property prices grew 3.7% in the NCR, following the national trend, but fell by 0.4% in areas outside NCR. Data showed that in the third quarter, the number of residential real estate loans granted for all types of new housing units in the Philippines jumped 51% year-on-year and 32% compared to Q2.